poker.yoga

AA on Q♦ 7♣ 3♠, checked to you — bet small, bet big or check?

The answer

Bet big

Bet pot-size

The math: Q73 · the Big Blind's wide defence is full of queens that pay a big bet → solver bets pot-size with aces 90% of the time.

Why

Your aces are a massive overpair on Q♦ 7♣ 3♠ — and this time the caller's range is built to pay. The Big Blind defends every suited queen and most offsuit ones, so a thick band of Qx top pairs will call a pot-size bet on this static board. That's the condition big bets need: second-best hands that pay. The solver fires pot with aces here 90% of the time. Charge the queens the most while the board is this safe.

The spot

Villain · BB
checks
POT · $20
Q
7
3
A
A
BTN
$1 / $2 · 100bb
Your seat
BTN
Stakes and stacks
$1 / $2 · 100bb
Your hand
A♠ A♣
Board
Q♦ 7♣ 3♠
Pot
POT · $20
Action on you
BB checks

Every option

  • Bet smallBet ~1/3 pot

    Why not: A third-pot stab leaves money on the table when your aces are this far ahead and Qx will happily call far more.

  • Bet bigBet pot-sizeCorrect

  • CheckCheck behind

    Why not: Checking a monster wastes the one street where worse hands are keen to put chips in against you.

The idea behind it

Big bets need customers: when the caller's range is full of strong-but-second-best hands — like every Qx on a queen-high board — your strongest overpairs size up. Without those customers, even monsters join the small range bet.

Concept: Big for value

Terms in this spot

Play it instead of reading it

The trainer deals this hand with hints, grading and spaced repetition — and randomized variations of it once you have seen it.

More spots in this topic

All 179 quiz spots